Scientific Advisory Board
David Archer, MD, Department of Ob/Gyn, Eastern Virginia School of Medicine
David F. Archer, MD is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist with advanced certification in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. He is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Eastern Virginia Medical School, where he has been actively involved in the Reproductive Endocrine and Infertility Fellowship. He has been a Principal Investigator or Investigator on 347 Clinical Trials related to Women’s Health during the past 34 years. He is a Principal Investigator for the NICHD Contraceptive Clinical Trials Network since 1996, and was the Director of the CONRAD (Contraceptive Research and Development) Clinical Research Center from 1987 until 2018. He has been extensively involved in new female and male contraceptive products during this time. Under his direction the Clinical Research center has been a clinical site for studies related to infertility, menopause, endometriosis and uterine myomas. These clinical trials have involved steroidal hormones, gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists, non-peptide gonadotropin releasing hormone antagonists, selective progesterone receptor modulators, and anti-fibrinolytic agents.
Dr. Archer is currently investigating the plasminogen activator system in unscheduled endometrial bleeding in contraceptive users and women with heavy menstrual bleeding.
Dr. Archer is an active member of multiple national and international societies related to women’s health. He has been an officer or member of the Board of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the North American Menopause Society, International Menopause Society, European Society for Contraception and Reproductive Health and the Egon and Ann Diczfalusy Foundation.
He is an honorary member of the Royal Thailand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist, the Chilean Climacteric Society and the Romanian Obstetrical and Gynecology Society. He is a recipient of the International Menopause Society Life Time Achievement Award in 2018, the North America Menopause Society Thomas Clarkson Award for Research in 2020 and the EVMS Deans Award for Achievement in Research in 2007.
Diana Blithe, PhD, Program Director, Contraception and Reproductive Health Branch, NICHD
Charles Carignan, MD
Dr. Charles S. Carignan is the CEO of SoniVie, and previously served as the Executive Chair and CEO of Rex Bionics, as the President and CEO of BionX Medical Technology (sold to Ottobock), founding President and CEO of NinePoint Medical, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Novasys Medical, Inc. (sold to Roper), Chief Medical Officer at Boston Scientific, and Vice President of clinical research and medical affairs at Conceptus (sold to Bayer). He received a BA from Yale University and an MD from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. He trained in general surgery at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. He has served healthcare worldwide participating on committees of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Jessica Grossman, MD, CEO, IgGenix
Bob Katz, CEO, Hybridge Medical
Bob Katz is the CEO/CTO of Hybridge Medical, a medical device incubator group. He previously served as President, Founding CEO and Director of ContraMed, LLC, a privately funded Women’s Health start-up that developed novel intrauterine devices for long-acting reversible contraception (sold to Sebela Pharmaceuticals). Prior to ContraMed, Bob was President & CEO of Aptus Endosystems, a venture-backed developer of intravascular aortic aneurysm stent grafts (sold to Medtronic), President & COO of Revivant Corporation, venture-backed developer of the AutoPulse automated chest compression system for delivery of hands-free CPR (sold to ZOLL Medical), Vice President of R&D for Symphonix Devices, developer of the first FDA approved semi-implantable hearing device (sold to Med-El Corporation) and Manager of Advanced Devices Research for Cordis Corporation. He received a BA in Business and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University, and a MS in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University. Bob is listed inventor on over two dozen patents and co-author of various peer-reviewed publications.
Lisa Rarick, MD, FACOG
RAR Consulting, LLC
Lisa Rarick, MD, FACOG is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and regulatory affairs expert with 35 years' experience in women's health and 15 years' experience leading several offices within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She received her BS and MD from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine and completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Georgetown University. Dr. Rarick has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development since 2004 and served on the Board of Directors for Alliance Partners 360 from June 2017 – June 2019. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Evofem Biosciences.
Dr. Rarick began her career at the FDA in 1988 as a Medical Officer, responsible for the management of products indicated for a variety of reproductive health conditions, including oral, transdermal, implantable, intrauterine and vaginal contraceptives. She became the Director for the Division of Reproductive and Urologic Drug Products when it was formed in 1996, and later held several management roles in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), including Deputy Director of the Office of Drug Evaluation II and Associate Director in the Office of the Center Director.
Dr. Rarick’s final year at the FDA was spent in the Office of Women's Health, where she focused on HIV prevention, pregnancy prevention, pre- and post-pregnancy care and menopausal therapy. She is currently a reproductive health and regulatory affairs consultant who has helped numerous companies navigate the development of their products from early-stage development through FDA approval. Dr Rarick recently resumed direct patient-care activities in Baltimore, Maryland.